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Colour, Cups and Tiles Card, Nick

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Citation for published version (APA): Card, N. (2010). Colour, Cups and Tiles: Recent Discoveries at the Ness of Brodgar. Past, 66, 1-3.

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Download date: 06. Oct. 2021 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:04 Page 3 AST NUMBER 66 November 2010 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PREHISTORIC SOCIETY Registered Office University College London, Institute of , 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/ PCOLOUR, CUPS AND TILES - RECENT DISCOVERIES AT THE NESS OF BRODGAR

At the epicentre of Neolithic Orkney lies the Ness of Stenness. The site challenges the way this remarkable Brodgar in the midst of some of the most iconic landscape is perceived, much as the discoveries at prehistoric monuments of western Europe - nearby Barnhouse did two decades ago. Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of 6 6

An overall view of the main trench

The copy date for PAST 67 is 1 March 2011. Contributions to Joanna Brück, School of Archaeology, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Email: [email protected] Contributions on disc or as e-mail attachments are preferred (either word 6 or rtf files) but hardcopy is also accepted. Illustrations can be sent as drawings, slides, prints, tif or jpeg files. The book reviews editor is Dr Mike Allen, Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wilts, SP4 6EB. Email: [email protected] Queries over subscriptions and membership should go to the Society administrator Tessa Machling at the London address above.

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Until recently, this large whaleback ridge ( c. 250 x layer of colour, the contrast between the design and 100m) was considered to be a natural feature. the parent rock would have been dramatically However, excavation has revealed that much of the enhanced. Apparent multi-layered engravings could mound is artificial and comprises several phases of also be clarified if each set of engravings was Neolithic activity. During its later phases, the site was ‘separated’ by a layer of paint. dominated by a group of large stone buildings that were contained within a massive walled enclosure (c.125 x 75m). The evidence to date would suggest that the complex was primarily non-domestic and was an integral part of this rich ritual landscape.

This season, earlier phases of the site were identified with several oval structures starting to appear under, and in some cases partially incorporated into, the later phases already revealed. These may not be the earliest on site as the potential depth of archaeology points towards earlier activity below. However, all of the phases recognised so far seem to date to the Late Neolithic as indicated by a rich material assemblage dominated by Grooved Ware exhibiting both applied and incised decoration. The ‘tile horizon’ within one of the side recesses of Structure 8

Prior to this season, the main structures were already In addition to the three major structures (Structures impressive with regards to their scale, symmetrical 1, 8 and 10) revealed previously (with several more architecture, art (with over 100 stones exhibiting indicated by geophysics), in 2010 the newly revealed both finely incised geometric designs and pecked Structure 12 also proved to be of the same motifs), and walls surviving to in excess of 1m in monumental nature. In excess of 16 metres long and height. In 2010, their unusual nature was further 10 metres wide, Structure 12 exhibited the same emphasised by the discovery of evidence for tiled angular and symmetrical architecture as Structures 1 roofs and painted walls. and 8 at the Ness and Structure 2 at Barnhouse. In all these buildings, stone piers were employed to In two of the structures where floor deposits have create recesses along their inner wall faces. Structure been partially uncovered, a horizon of numerous 2 at Barnhouse was interpreted as being non- thin stone slabs was encountered just above the domestic and for the preparation of special food and occupation layers. These slabs had been trimmed the manufacture of unusual items such as into rectangular shapes just as can be seen today on maceheads. This season at the Ness, the some traditional stone-slated Orcadian roofs. In extraordinary array of finds from the two recesses essence, these layers of slabs represent collapsed so far excavated in Structure 8 - a large whale slated roofs. The regular nature of such a roofing tooth, several polished stone items, a whalebone system would be in stark contrast to that normally macehead and a polished shale object - may indicate envisaged, but would seem to complement their a similar function. regular architecture. However, at the Ness, Structures 1, 8 and 12 would Although the use of colour was already evident in appear to be contemporary as indicated by their the central chamber of Structure 10, with naturally spatial respect for each other, similarities in coloured red and yellow sandstone incorporated in architecture (including identical dimensions between its build, this was complemented by the discovery of sets of piers) and their north/south alignment, several stones that had been ‘painted’ within two of although this is not yet proven stratigraphically. Did the other structures. Vivid earthy colours of reds, these similarities also reflect a similar function for browns and yellows were encountered that initial these three buildings? One possible interpretation is analyses indicate were derived from ochre or iron suggested by Colin Richards whose recent research ores. Although some stone faces appear to have been at the two nearby stone circles indicates that they completely covered in pigment, others showed were composed of different types of sandstone from evidence of designs paralleled by some of the incised various locations across Orkney. He sees this as art. ‘Paint pots’ had been previously discovered at evidence that the standing stones represented input Skara Brae but these were presumed to have been by different groups or communities from across the used for personal adornment. This use of colour may archipelago contributing to the circle construction. help to explain the many very lightly incised and Could the Ness of Brodgar be interpreted in a similar ephemeral designs discovered at the Ness and way as a place where different groups, probably of elsewhere. If these designs were incised through a related kin, constructed discrete but similar, special

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‘family’ buildings? This multi-community-based hearth, Structure 10 seems to represent a ‘house’ on theory could help to explain the wide range of a grand scale. Other aspects and its associations with decorative styles we see on the prolific Grooved Maeshowe (alignment, use of standing stones and its Ware assemblage at the Ness. cruciform chamber) would point towards a more special or spiritual use. Excavation of the floor The final major phase at the Ness is represented by deposits next year should elucidate this. Structure 10. This shows a marked departure from earlier phases in terms of its scale (at over 20 x 19m Forming the southern side of the enclosing wall in size, with walls over 5m thick); complexity (the around these structures is the ‘Lesser Wall of incorporation of standing stones, the presence of a Brodgar’ (only 2m wide as compared to the 4m plus surrounding paved passage and its alignment with wide ‘Greater Wall of Brodgar’ that forms its Maes Howe); design (a cruciform shaped central northern boundary). In 2010, its full surviving height chamber); and art. of over 1.7m was revealed, along with a sequence of paving around its exterior. The beautifully built This season, excavation concentrated on revealing outer wall face gave a sense of what must have been the floor deposits and the refinement of the central an awe inspiring sight as one approached the Ness chamber of this building. The stone ‘dresser’/altar (?) from the Stones of Stenness 5,000 years ago. was shown to be freestanding and elaborated with pecked surface dressing to complement the use of naturally coloured sandstones. Central to the chamber, a large square stone hearth was revealed. A multi-cupped stone had been placed in the middle of the hearth along with an upturned cattle skull to perhaps commemorate its last use. It is tempting to relate these deposits within the chamber to the massive bone layer that fills the upper levels of the paved passage surrounding Structure 10. Preliminary assessment of this bone by Dr Ingrid Mainland has shown that it is predominantly cattle tibia representing perhaps hundreds of individual cattle - remnants of a final ‘decommissioning’ feast?

The ‘Lesser Wall of Brodgar’ revealed to its full surviving height

Once again, the discoveries in 2010 at the Ness would seem to emphasise the special nature of the site - not only the buildings, the art and the enclosing walls, but also the wide range of finds including some that indicate widespread contacts such as flint from Yorkshire and pitchstone from Arran. Although the Ness as it unfolds will provide new insights into the spiritual life of the Neolithic, the landscape in which it sits, and Neolithic society in general, it is appropriate that the site is being excavated at the same time as the Neolithic settlements at the Links of Noltland on Westray, the One of the painted stones Braes of Habreck on Wyre, and Green on Eday. Only in the context of a range of sites will the value of the Although art is widespread on the site, the use of Ness discoveries be fully understood. cup marks is limited to Structure 10 (suggesting a chronological development of art on site). Apart Excavation this year was supported by Orkney from the stone in the centre of the hearth, a beautiful Islands Council; Orkneyjar.com; Historic Scotland; multi-cupped stone formed part of the entrance the Russell Trust; European Leader Funding; the to the central chamber while others were used in Robert Kiln Trust; Orkney Archaeology Society; the the forecourt walls and one as packing for the landowners, the Taits and Carole Hoey; and standing stone. numerous individuals from around the world.

Although superficially similar to the interior of some Nick Card, Orkney Research Centre for Late Neolithic houses with its ‘dresser’ and central Archaeology

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THE 2010 ‘THUNDER RUN’ Pausing only for an unscheduled tour of a charming housing estate, for sports cars to catch up and to wonder if the ancestral route along the Ridgeway While quite probably historically accurate, Stuart might be swifter, our minibus arrived at White Horse Piggott’s dash from Avebury to Norwich in an MG Hill, Oxfordshire. After a short but energetic uphill Midget borrowed from Alexander Keiller is central hike, we were standing on the ramparts of Iron Age to our Prehistoric Society’s founding myth. Over the Uffington Castle hillfort with Gary Lock of Oxford weekend of 4th September 2010, society members University, gazing at spectacular views over the Vale set out to retrace Piggott’s epic 1935 journey, the of the White Horse and ’s birthplace. ‘thunder run’, but with added value. While Listening to Professor Lock discuss the Hillforts of commemorating the ‘great coup d’état’ of Graham the Ridgeway Project suggested that the more we Clark’s ‘Young Turks’, and their successful vote 75 learn about this class of monument the more years ago to rename and revitalise the Prehistoric enigmatic they become. In contrasting Uffington Society of East Anglia, we were also to visit five well Castle with close Ridgeway neighbours, Segsbury chosen prehistoric sites en route . Furthermore, Camp and Alfred’s Castle, any simple unifying today’s Young Turks, current President Alison interpretation remained elusive. Sheridan, Secretary Josh Pollard and Meetings Secretary Jonathan Last, would lead our expedition; and in the tradition of Prehistoric Society field trips, We were told that while training excavations we would be joined on-site by leading specialists. revealed evidence of Roman activity at all three enclosures, Uffington Castle showed little or no trace To conjure the spirit of Keiller and Piggott as we of prehistoric settlement or warfare, while the giant gathered on the first morning at Avebury’s National Segsbury Camp was periodically occupied by large Trust car park, we were greeted by four sparkling numbers of people and livestock - perhaps serving as vintage MG sports cars (courtesy of the Wessex MG a regional centre for exchange. Meanwhile, lying Car Club) and several bottles of equally sparkling just south of the Ridgeway, Alfred’s (diminutive) wine. Following convivial toasts, Josh Pollard set the Castle - though densely occupied in the Earlier scene for thunder run 2: the personalities, politics Iron Age - may not have been a hillfort at all. and debate surrounding the birth of our society. Whether prehistoric activity at Uffington Castle was Then, wandering through the stone settings of the episodic and archaeologically invisible - as with a Avebury , we learned of a confrontational huge Victorian carnival reportedly held in the social history and the eighteenth century fire-setting hillfort - or whether Iron Age people were on and destruction of sarsen stones recorded by William occasion excessively tidy or shunned typologies in Stukeley. A re-visioning of Avebury did not end archaeology text books we may never know. there. We heard that the pioneering archaeological Pondering all this and more the group adjourned for and restorative work that Keiller sponsored included a gourmet picnic at the adjacent iconic chalk hill- a partial re-sculpting of hitherto uneven henge figure now, we were told, securely dated to the Late banks: prehistoric monument meets twentieth Bronze or Early Iron Age. century aesthetic! Such perfectly reasonable folies du jour would become a recurring theme of the trip. Leaving MGs behind but still following the Ridgeway, we headed for Whiteleaf Hill, Buckinghamshire. Again, we were met with breathtaking views and an intriguing monument. Our travelling companion, Gill Hey of Oxford Archaeology, discussed the reinvestigation of Sir Lindsay Scott’s 1930s excavation of a small earthen Early Neolithic barrow. Gill explained that two levels of interpretation were needed: understanding the methodology of a pre-war excavator (who left few field notes) and examining the nature and phasing of the prehistoric monument. With the help of local volunteers and school groups, a team from Oxford Archaeology painstakingly re-excavated Scott’s spoilheap to distinguish natural from archaeological features. Duly impressed, and contemplating that even with hindsight and today’s technology, such subtle differentiation on a much High status shiny impractical transport with intoxicant disturbed site must be as much art as science, we for the elite - familiar theme? headed downhill for Cambridge, curry, beer and bed.

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Sunday morning saw thunder run re-enactors followed by bells and heading for Wandlebury, a hillfort that seemingly dispensed with much of a hill. Our bus was met on-site by another yet more thrusting sports car (in this case not an MG) and by geo-archaeologist Charly French of the Department of Archaeology, . Here, unlike Uffington, training excavations had revealed evidence of dense Iron Age settlement. Postholes and pits were clustered within and extended well beyond the enclosure perimeter. Wandlebury also offered other familiar themes - putative chalk figures and a dispute between distinguished archaeologists over the interpretation of geological and archaeological features. For the record, fellow traveller Stuart Piggott and colleagues were sceptics, believing Charles Lethbridge’s ‘sleeping giants’ - the chalk cut figures of Gogmagog on the south-facing slope of the hillfort - the probable result of soil solifluction. With grateful thanks to Charly French for a truly stimulating morning, and leaving the Gogmagog debate for intellectual giants, we headed east for High Lodge, a site that provoked one of the longest running debates in archaeology.

Driving into Suffolk and past the huge American air

force base at Mildenhall, we pulled into a leafy lay- Pete Topping explains the succession of prehistoric by across from several overgrown brick pits. flint mining at Grimes Graves Expedition co-organiser Jonathan Last of English Heritage took up the complicated story. Here, it intuitively these deep shafts with complex side seemed, the conventional typological succession of galleries seem to be among the earliest. The the British Palaeolithic was overturned. Jonathan argument about Grimes Graves rumbled on until gallantly outlined a century of archaeological Young Turks Grahame Clark and Stuart Piggott confusion and an apparently Mousterian flint became founder members of the Prehistoric Society industry which underlay an assemblage of distinctly and the old guard of the East Anglian Society Acheulian handaxes. Fortunately, recent eventually fell silent. As a fitting climax to our geologically-enlightened and less typologically- commemoration, thunder runners descended into pit determined fresh thinking by Jill Cook, Nick Aston 1 to see Neolithic mine workings at first hand, our and colleagues has finally ‘sorted out’ the 500,000 only concern, in the unlikely event of pit collapse, year old site to most scholars’ satisfaction. that the combined learning of our assembled tour guides would be lost and Neolithic studies set back a Although a grateful Palaeolithic enthusiast, I have to generation, or more. admit there was not much to see at High Lodge. Not so with our final stop and as several of our party Our thanks go to English Heritage for waiving remarked, ‘they’re saving the best till last!’ Our bus entrance fees to Grimes Graves, Wessex MG Car arrived at an impressive moonscape of large pits far Club, to our expert guides and tour organisers for more extensive than one imagined, and the their generosity and kindness and especially to Josh encyclopaedic Frances Healy of Cardiff University Pollard for his customary erudition and unfailing and Pete Topping of English Heritage - two people good humour through two days of tireless, skilful you would most welcome as guides to Grimes driving. We never quite reached Norwich, though we Graves - were on hand to greet us. And here was the allegedly saw nine counties in two privileged, last salutary lesson from the historiography of thought-provoking days. archaeology: not to privilege any treasured, pre- conceived narrative over evidence in the ground. Greg Bailey Easier said than done in any age, but as our guides recalled, Reginald Smith, pre-First World War director of the British Museum, envisioned Palaeolithic miners in Norfolk despite evidence of a Neolithic groundstone axe and Holocene fauna at primary prehistoric mining levels – and counter-

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DEREK SIMPSON AND THE B I R MI N G H AM ’ S E A R LI E S T LAUNDERS LANE ARCHIVE I N H A B I T A N T S? A N EW L Y Alex Gibson in PAST 65 (page 7) mentioned DISCOVERED Launders Lane, one of the late Derek Simpson’s PALAEOLITHIC AXE FROM unpublished sites. Fortuitously, this excavation and five others in the same area of the east London SUTTON COLDFIELD borough of Havering are soon to be published as part of an Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) The sprawling conurbation that constitutes the UK’s Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) project second city and is home to over a million people is entitled Archaeological landscapes of east London: not immediately synonymous with Palaeolithic six multi-period sites excavated in advance of gravel archaeology. While archaeological remains from later quarrying in the London Borough of Havering . such as Bronze Age burnt mounds are well This MOLA monograph will publish six recorded, evidence for occupation from earlier multi-period (but predominantly prehistoric) sites prehistory is relatively unusual although not entirely excavated between 1963 and 1997 in advance of unknown, and a range of chance finds during gravel extraction (for full details see development work are gradually combining to fill the www.museumoflondonarchaeology.org.uk). gaps in what is known of the earliest colonisation of the region. One such find is a large bi-facial Launders Lane was the first of these excavations: the Palaeolithic handaxe discovered in 2006 during fieldwork was directed by the late Derek Simpson and building works in the centre of Sutton Coldfield to Isobel Smith on behalf of the Ministry of Public the north of Birmingham: it was brought to the Building and Works. This site had been discovered as attention of Drs Martin Smith and Andy Howard at a series of cropmarks in 1957 by J. K. St Joseph the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity at the during a photographic aerial survey of the area. These University of Birmingham by one of their enthusiastic cropmarks were incorrectly interpreted as a Late Iron students. The handaxe, which is made from flint, Age farmstead consisting of a ditched enclosure with measured 168.5mm by 118mm and weighed 763g. a large round house inside. Instead, excavation Its characteristic elongated D-shaped flat butt and proved that the cropmarks were actually a medieval broad tip indicate that it conforms to the bout coupé manorial enclosure with a Neolithic ring ditch type. This form is peculiar to Britain, appearing (internal diameter of just over 15m) inside. surprisingly during the Late Middle Palaeolithic when Excavation of the ring ditch revealed a large amount Levallois techniques were otherwise the norm. of Early Neolithic ( c. 3600-3300 BC) pottery and flint work (including knapping debris). Within the ring ditch was a central pit containing Beaker pottery ( c. 2400-1700 BC), implying that the monument remained in use for over a millennium.

Intriguingly, the western circuit of the ring ditch was found to have cut through an earlier, but otherwise undated, steep-sided pit. This pit was one of several undated features located in the immediate vicinity of the ring ditch. Interestingly, the Stanwell Cursus at Perry Oaks, Hillingdon, was also pre-dated by a number of pits and postholes probably of Later Mesolithic date (Framework Archaeology, 2006, Landscape evolution in the Middle Thames Valley: Heathrow Terminal 5 Excavation. Volume 1, Perry The Sutton Coldfield handaxe (max. length: 168.5mm; max. width: Oaks . Framework Archaeol Monogr Ser 1). The 118mm; max. depth at base: 44mm; weight: 763g) presence of these undated pits and a number of This find represents an important new entry to Mesolithic flints (mostly recovered from the topsoil), Birmingham’s Historic Environment Record and including a finely-worked flaked adze, implies that adds to three other handaxes recovered from the the site was already privileged in some way - possibly conurbation, all of which were similar chance finds. following an earlier episode of woodland clearance However, the Sutton Coldfield axe is the largest during the Mesolithic. A second nearby, smaller example to be found in the region and, unlike other Neolithic ring ditch was also partly excavated at the handaxes from the area, it is notable for its pristine same time. The late Derek Simpson did a great deal of the basic post-excavation work and arranged for condition with edges still razor sharp. A section of many of the finds to be drawn; now we have built on cortex left in situ at the base fits the thumb extremely his legacy to bring his work to fruition. comfortably when the axe is held in the right hand with corresponding implications for the handedness Bruce Watson, Museum of London Archaeology of its maker. 6 PAST 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:05 Page 9

The axe remains the finest example the present Although just a single object, the Sutton handaxe authors have seen and the apparent ‘freshness’ of this adds to a gradually emerging picture of the find initially prompted our suspicions that it might occupation of the West Midlands during the Lower be a modern reproduction. Therefore, the present and Middle Palaeolithic outlined by Alex Lang and authors arranged to meet with the workmen who the late Professor David Keen in PPS 71 . described finding the axe lying on an undisturbed Furthermore, recently documented new discoveries sandy layer approximately 3m below the current in the wider region, particularly those made from ground level as they dug down adjacent to the quartzite, including examples from Waverley Wood, foundations of an Edwardian house. Although the the Middle Trent, and in Leicestershire and Rutland, footings had been filled in by the time of our visit, as well as the reappraisal of existing museum consultation of the local British Geological Survey collections through funding from the ALSF, memoir and 1:50,000 map (Sheet 168, Birmingham) demonstrate a hitherto unrealised density of suggested that the find was from sediments either occupation and activity. The Sutton Coldfield relating to deposits classified as ‘Head’ or handaxe highlights the potential for many more ‘Glaciofluvial’ sands and gravels. It is unlikely that discoveries across the West Midlands region, even such an artefact would remain in such pristine from what are now heavily urbanized areas. condition if it had been reworked by periglacial processes, which opens up the tantalising possibility Acknowledgements that the artefact may well have been preserved in situ Thanks are due to Victoria Dixon for recognising the on a Middle Palaeolithic land surface lying beneath axe as a prehistoric find and ensuring that it was the centre of Sutton Coldfield. brought to wider attention.

Martin Smith, Bournemouth University, [email protected] Andy Howard, University of Birmingham, [email protected] Mike Hodder, Birmingham City Council, [email protected]

A NOTE FROM THE NEW PRESIDENT

At the 2010 AGM, the Presidency of the Society passed from Professor Clive Ruggles to Dr , of National Museums Scotland

It is an immense privilege to be taking up the Prehistoric Society reins during this, its 75th anniversary year, and my task over my term of office will be to ensure that the Society continues to flourish. When, in February 1935, Stuart Piggott and his fellow Young Turks forced through the vote to transform the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia to the Prehistoric Society, they set out its aim as promoting the study of prehistory worldwide, with Palaeolithic axe findspots in the Birmingham area: membership open to all. 1 Sutton Coldfield (2006); 2 Court Lane, Erdington (1981); 3 Saltley (1890); 4 Brook Lane, Edgbaston (c.1912). This aim continues to be fulfilled admirably, and current membership stands at around 1500, from over 40 countries. The Proceedings , expertly edited Dr Mike Hodder, the Planning Archaeologist for by Dr Julie Gardiner, continue to present the results Birmingham City Council, already has special of important research; PAST , masterminded by Dr Jo research interests in the archaeology of Sutton Brück, keeps members abreast of latest developments; Coldfield and so paid particular attention to the and the recently-established Prehistoric Society handaxe. Mike is now keenly awaiting an Research Papers series goes from strength to strength, opportunity to learn more about the vicinity of the thanks to Herculean efforts from Dr Mike Allen. The findspot by requiring archaeological investigation lectures, study tours, conferences and research should further building or road works be proposed weekends remain a popular way of keeping members in the area. and others in touch with what’s new in prehistoric PAST 7 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:05 Page 10

archaeology, both here and abroad, and the awards The 75th anniversary celebrations have been huge and grants recognise and promote excellence in fun so far, with the re-creation of Stuart Piggott’s prehistoric research. The Society is especially keen to ‘Thunder Run’ in September featuring a feast both of foster a passion for the past among students of archaeology and of classic cars (see report by Greg archaeology, and Dr Alex Lang has been beavering Bailey in this edition). At the time of writing, we are away, bringing 21st century ways of communicating looking forward to the sell-out Sara Champion to our venerable Society. And in line with the Society’s Debate (20th October), between heavyweight commitment to operating at an international level, I Professors Clive Gamble and Tim Champion, on am delighted, nay ravie , to announce that we are ‘This House believes that the study of the Stone Ages twinning with our sister organisation across the has contributed more to our knowledge of the Channel, the Société Préhistorique Française. One of human condition than study of the Metal Ages’. our first acts will be to co-host a conference on Neolithic cross-Channel links in Bournemouth next The Council is open to suggestions as to how the May (6th-8th), called ‘Hands across the Water’, Society can best continue to serve the membership which examines communities on either side of the and to go forward into its next 75 years. Comments Channel during the fifth and fourth millennia, and can be sent to the President directly on the issue of cross-Channel links. See the flier and [email protected] (or at the Department of watch the website for updates. Archaeology, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF) or to Tessa Machling ([email protected]).

Alison Sheridan

SACRE VERT! THE SOCIETY’S EUROPA LECTURE AND DAY CONFERENCE IN CARDIFF, 2010.

This year saw one of the most successful of our new format AGM/Europa lecture/day conference meetings so far. It unashamedly reflected some of the many enthusiasms of our new President, Alison Sheridan, and although the title is a reference to the pan-European Projet Jade with which she has been so closely associated, the scope of the day was much wider, and covered practically everything one could consider about the sourcing, use and trade of The Society also faces challenges, particularly in prestige axes in the Neolithic. these recessionary times. The cost of producing the Proceedings has meant that alternative publishers 2010 saw the final stage of Projet Jade , a research have had to be sought, and negotiations continue to programme led by our Europa Prize winner, Dr ensure that the membership receive the best deal. Pierre Pétrequin of CNRS, the progenitor and Tied up with this is the question of how best to make coordinator of the project. More than 80% of all previous editions of PPS available on-line. The known axes of Alpine rock in Europe have been website is also currently undergoing a major studied and non-destructively analysed by members makeover, the results of which will be launched of the project team, with stunning results. For before the end of 2010. This will include a facility example, three axes from widely spaced findspots in for online renewals and subscriptions by credit card: Germany were found to have originated from the please see www.prehistoricsociety.org for further same jadeite source, high on Monte Viso in Italy, as details. Much hard work continues to be undertaken an axe found in Pitreavie near Dunfermline. These behind the scenes, and I pay tribute to the dedication highly valued prestige objects were derived from of the Council, of our Membership and rocks in high ‘special’ places, worked with intense Administration Secretary, Dr Tessa Machling, of our labour, spread throughout Europe, never used for Treasurer, Alastair Ainsworth, and of all who help to chopping wood, and sometimes reworked into other organise events. objects, presumably to spread their magic more

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widely. Some unfortunate axes have, however, had disconcerting ‘metal’ ideas coming in from overseas? their status diminished in the course of this project: Alison Sheridan presented a paper with Gabriel the spectroradiometric analysis has unmasked some Cooney and Yvan Pailler reviewing the sourcing and previously revered specimens as recent incomers manufacture of the Alpine axes, emphasising the from places like New Zealand! 1000 hours of labour need to produce a jadeite axe, and the indications that not all stages of manufacture Dr Pétrequin’s fieldwork in the high southern Alps in were carried out in the same place. Although these North Italy, with his wife Anne-Marie and other great axes are clearly not for practical use, an collaborators, makes clear the difficulty of accessing example apparently found in a log boat near the rock sources, the care with which particular Glasgow suggests that it had been set in a haft before sources were sought out, and even the way that axes the ends on either side of the hafting were polished. of lighter-coloured jadeite tended to travel to Brittany The source of the jadeite axes high in the Alps may and Britain, while axes of darker-coloured Alpine have influenced the exploitation of other local rocks (mostly eclogite and omphacitite) were sources in difficult places or magic mountains, such favoured further south. In his Europa lecture, he was as Langdale or Tievebulliagh. The last contribution able to tell us that although the Alpine axes studied in came from Alasdair Whittle and Frances Healy, the present project are often stray finds or otherwise relating the timing of the spread of prestige unprovenanced, the development of a typology now Continental axes to Britain and the local allows dates to be proposed. Alpine axes are seldom manufacture of early flint axes (which precede stone found in settlement contexts and, except in ones) to that of the spread of the earliest Neolithic Morbihan, seldom in funerary ones. Some axes are enclosures, the subject of their recent research found more than 1700km from their source but, from project. They argued that the surge in the their peak of popularity in the fifth millennium, by introduction and circulation of prestige axes the middle of the third millennium BC they coincides with the main phase of causewayed contracted to distribution in the more local area. Dr enclosure construction, and it falls away before the Pétrequin suggested that the Golfe du Morbihan end of this phase, c. 3500-3400 BC. might have been a focal point for the reworking and redistribution of the axes in the fifth millennium. The whole day was held in the rather wonderful if labyrinthine surroundings of the Chemistry The Europa lecture was preceded by other speakers, Department at Cardiff University - an organisation the majority of them Projet Jade collaborators, who surely to be cherished in its own right in these provided a marvellous summary of what is known difficult days. It was excellently organised, with about prestige axes in Neolithic Europe. Serge Cassen special convoys to guide people from the entrance outlined the contexts of the Morbihan finds and then hall to the remote lecture theatre we occupied. The Yvan Pailler reviewed the contrasting forms and uses entrance hall also provided a fine location for the of jadeite, fibrolite and dolerite axes in Brittany. final event of the day: a friendly wine reception While fibrolite is readily available in local outcrops which allowed the large audience to catch up on and does not require mountaineering, the local forms, news and digest the day. Although the AGM will be especially the large green fibrolite axes, may refer to formally reported elsewhere, particular mention Alpine originals. This was followed by Françoise must be made of a few high points: the presentation Bostyn and Hélène Collet, who discussed the sources of the Europa Prize itself to Dr Pétrequin; the and forms of flint axe heads in France and the way presentation of the R. M. Baguley Award to Lekky their distribution appears to mirror the boundaries of Shepherd on behalf of her husband, the late and Michelsburg and Chasséen ceramic material. Gabriel much missed Ian Shepherd, for his paper on V- Cooney presented Lutz Klassen’s paper on the perforated buttons in the last Proceedings ; and relationship of the fifth and fourth millennium jade finally the presentation of a most magnificent newly- axes with copper ones from the east. Their made axe to Alison. This had been made by entirely distributions are almost mutually exclusive but by the traditional methods by a specialist axe producer in middle of the third millennium BC, copper copies of New Guinea and, because one is not supposed to Alpine axes are found in Denmark, indicating very handle such sacred axes directly, it was presented in long survival and curation of the originals. what we can only suppose was the equally traditional wrapping of a woolly sock. It was a Following this, Frances Healy reviewed the results of super day, and this was a great way to thank our new the excavations at Grimes Graves, emphasising that President for organising it. once again the deep mines, as with Continental examples, were not necessary to obtain perfectly Frances Griffith and Eileen Wilkes decent flint for axe manufacture. The exploitation of the deep mines appears to start in the earlier third millennium: could this represent an assertion or exaggeration of traditional ‘flint’ values in the face of

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THE R. M. BAGUELEY AWARD Later Iron Age ceramics and settlement in south west Britain Joint meeting of Devon Archaeological Society and The R. M. Bagueley Award, a fine engraved goblet, is the Prehistoric Society, main Council Chamber, presented for the best contribution to the Proceedings County Hall, Exeter, Devon, Wednesday 26 January of the Prehistoric Society on the basis of a ballot held 2011 by the Council. Following a unanimous vote, the Wine reception at 7.30pm followed by lecture at award for volume 75, 2009, was made posthumously 8pm by Henrietta Quinnell, Archaeological to Ian Shepherd for his article on ‘The V-bored Consultant and Honorary Research Fellow, buttons of Great Britain and Ireland’, and was University of Exeter presented to Alexandra Shepherd on Ian’s behalf. Middle Iron Age South Western Decorated Ware is visually the most attractive of later prehistoric UPCOMING SOCIETY ceramics, but most published work only refers to its chronology, sources and development in very broad CONFERENCES AND outline. It has been regularly linked to the adoption MEETINGS of enclosed settlements (Cornish rounds) and multiple enclosure hillforts. Over the last decade, work in Cornwall and Devon has provided a large Hands across the water: the archaeology of the number of new radiocarbon determinations. These, cross-channel Neolithic allied to studies of stratified deposits, especially at School of Applied Sciences, Bournemouth University, Trevelgue cliff castle near Newquay, have provided Bournemouth, Dorset, Friday 6-Sunday 8 May 2011 more detailed chronology and an insight into stylistic A major international conference organised by the variations. Some decorative styles/forms are more Prehistoric Society and Bournemouth University likely to occur in ‘structured depositions’ than Archaeology Group in association with the Société others. The date for general adoption of this ceramic Préhistorique Française and the Neolithic Studies style can now be placed at c. 300 BC rather than c. Group 400 BC, with consequent implications for the study of settlements. Petrological work by Roger Taylor Archaeological work on both sides of the English has built on Professor Peacock’s seminal study in the Channel/La Manche in recent years has started to 1960s and confirmed that Lizard gabbroic clays throw new light on the origins and development of were used almost universally in Cornwall. In Devon, early farming communities in the region during the a wide range of clays were used, and a very probable fifth and fourth millennia BC, and on the issue of source for Peacock’s Group 5 has been located in cross-channel contact. Consideration will be given to Exeter’s Ludwell Valley. artefacts, burial monuments, enclosures and ceremonial sites from the coastlands of southern Britain and northern France. What are the similarities and differences? How do the dates BARRY RAFTERY compare? Can we see the source of ideas taken up in Britain amongst the continental material? What were We are sorry to have to report that Barry Raftery, the processes and social practices that promoted or Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at University restricted cross-channel contacts? And how do College Dublin, has died after a long illness. Barry recent discoveries impact on available models for was one of the founding members of WARP, the explaining and understanding the Neolithic of the Wetland Archaeology Research Project, in the mid- Channel coastlands? The conference aims to pool 1980s, and the first modern Irish archaeologist to knowledge from archaeologists working on both tackle the major wetland peatbogs of central Ireland. sides of the Channel, exposing new discoveries and His work at Corlea, on a massive Iron Age trackway, the results of recent research to new audiences. led to important developments in the conservation of Further details and booking arrangements will be wood, the preservation of structural remains, the available via the Society’s website in the early presentation of results through the Corlea Visitor autumn www.prehistoricsociety.org. Centre, and the recognition that Irish peatlands deserve major attention within the wider Timothy Darvill & Alison Sheridan archaeological community.

Barry collaborated with Bryony Coles through their universities, Dublin and Exeter, with European Social Fund support, to promote post-graduate training in wetland archaeology. This combined work came to involve Dutch and Danish archaeologists in collaborative and fruitful training and research. 10 PAST 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:06 Page 13

Barry’s attendance at conferences at Silkeborg in Ireland, along with , and this encouraged Denmark and Gainesville in Florida, and his frequent the emergence of wetland research projects, such as visits to the Somerset Levels, led on to the 1998 that at Loch Kinale. Throughout his long career, WARP conference in Dublin, a major event. His own Barry lectured widely in Europe and helped in the research resulted in a fine series of publications on the development of wetland archaeology in many Irish wetlands. His visit to the wetlands of Japan with countries. Members of his field and laboratory team Akira Matsui was profitable to the development of are now working to promote wetland studies, and we wetland archaeology in both countries. of the Wetland Archaeology Research Project acknowledge the enormous contribution made by our good friend and colleague, Barry Raftery.

John and Bryony Coles, August 24 2010

THE PEOPLE PROJECT: ASSESSING THE HUMAN REMAINS FROM THE STONEHENGE LANDSCAPE 3700-1600 BC

The 2005 Stonehenge World Heritage Site: an archaeological research framework highlighted a lack of current knowledge about the human remains excavated from and around Stonehenge. Partly as a response to this, the Stonehenge People Project (SPP) was recently commissioned by English Heritage. The aims were to locate, catalogue and osteologically assess the extant human remains from the area.

The assessment was limited to remains from the Stonehenge landscape, an area defined in the research framework as a 135 km 2 plot, the southwest corner of In addition to his work on wetland archaeology, which is at SU 405000 138000 and the northwest Barry was an authority on the Irish Iron Age and his corner at SU 420000 147000. Chronologically, the publications include A Catalogue of Irish Iron Age assessment was limited to remains dating to 3700- Antiquities (1983), La Tene in Ireland: Problems of 1600 BC. Numerous museums and organisations Origin, Development and Chronology (1984) and his were contacted to establish where relevant remains landmark publication, Pagan Celtic Ireland (1994). were held. His excavation of the critically important hillfort site of Rathgall, Co. Wicklow, is currently in the final Approximately 300 separate deposits of human bone stages of preparation for publication. Barry’s work on were assessed by the SPP, ranging from single bone the Irish Iron Age was always set in its wider fragments to complete burials and cremations. European context and he had a wide network of Contextual data relating to the remains were colleagues and friends across Europe. He played a examined and the condition and completeness of the major role in the international Celtic exhibition in bone was recorded. Some of this material came from Venice in the early 1990s and was an editor of the antiquarian excavations and hence was poorly large volume on The Celts (1991) that resulted from provenanced, compromising its research value. this event. However, there were approximately three standard boxes (approximately 500 x 220 x 220mm) of In his leadership role at a national and international disarticulated material along with 116 articulated full level, Barry played a key role in the funding and or partial skeletons and 103 cremation deposits for development of archaeological research. He was a which provenance was secure or (in a minority of member of Council for the Prehistoric Society from cases) could likely be ascertained following work 1981 to 1984 and made a major contribution to the with the paper archive. Much of the bone was found Prehistoric Society’s hugely successful week-long to require processing (washing, drying and marking study tour to Ireland in 1980, including jointly for inhumations; sieving and sorting for cremated compiling a comprehensive handbook and leading bone) before any osteological analytical work could site tours to Rathgall and other hillforts. He was on be done. The condition of the unburnt bone was the Directorate of the Discovery Programme in generally good, with little surface erosion. PAST 11 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:06 Page 14

Current theories are increasingly viewing the primary Middle Iron Age hillfort, add more detail to the idea use of Stonehenge as funerary. The human remains of this ‘connecting’ landscape and suggest that a identified by the SPP form an important resource for significant new part of it has been discovered. The increasing our knowledge of the use of the monument use of the site in earlier prehistoric periods and after and the surrounding landscape. the Iron Age has been steadfastly under-researched. This is odd, as even a cursory glance at the OS map The full results of the assessment are contained suggests that this substantial hill was in a potentially in Vincent, S. and Mays, S. 2010. Assessment highly significant position topographically in the of human remains from the Stonehenge landscape: Salisbury Plain landscape. 3700-1600 BC . Research Department Report Series 34/2010. English Heritage: London. The document Our results provide evidence for earlier prehistoric is available on request from English Heritage at use of the site and point to a longer occupation of the http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/ hillfort in the Iron Age possibly continuing into the research/strategies/eh-research-reports/ Romano-British period. The site is situated 1.8 km from both Stonehenge and . It Stefanie Vincent and Simon Mays, English Heritage overlooks the Avenue, Bluestonehenge and King Barrow Ridge on its western flanks, and the River Avon on its eastern and southern sides.

A REASSESSMENT OF The initial aim of the investigation was to gauge the THE IMPORTANCE OF extent of Charles Bridgeman’s eighteenth century VESPASIAN’S CAMP IN THE landscaping of the Camp. Assumptions about the extent of it have contributed to the lack of research STONEHENGE LANDSCAPE at the Camp as it has been a dominant view that the site’s early archaeology had been largely destroyed The Stonehenge landscape is one of the most famous by it. Our research into eighteenth century records prehistoric ritual landscapes in the world, with for the site revealed that though Bridgeman’s 1738 recent research highlighting how important the River plans for the camp and the adjoining park and Avon was for connecting various monuments and gardens were extensive, only certain sections of them sites. Results from small-scale fieldwork by the Open were fully carried out and overall it was apparent University between 2005 and 2010 at Vespasian’s that the landscaping was less intrusive than had been Camp, previously primarily classified as an Early- previously assumed.

Vespasian’s Camp and environs, showing features discussed in the text. Contours in metres. 12 PAST 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:06 Page 15

We were then able to plan excavation targets. We Bronze Age chisel fragment was also found in the particularly wished to establish the nature of the spring, suggesting a ritual function to the site during pond feature (located at A on map) to the northeast this period. Further, a lead object, likely to be a of the Camp and to investigate a field to its west (B), Romano-British curse (Hurst, pers. comm.), was as both areas lie outside of the landscaping plans and discovered. Another significant find from one of the the Scheduled Monument area. We also wanted to smaller springs close to the site was a 5th century reassess the dating of the site. Since 2005, 14 test Anglo-Saxon disc brooch (Chester-Kadwell, pers. pits in and around the pond feature have been dug comm.) and a small number of medieval artefacts and a further 5 pits dug in the field directly to its have also been found at the spring. Overall our finds west. A geophysical survey of both areas was point to an undiscovered part of the Stonehenge conducted in 2009 and field walking surveys were ritual landscape which provides evidence of the carried out along the western ramparts and in the deliberate deposition of items into water during the southeast and southwest areas of the camp. Bronze Age and possibly later.

Our work at the pond feature revealed conclusively Geophysics, field survey and excavation work in a that it is in fact a natural spring (Hoare, pers. field to the west of the spring since 2009 have comm.) and is the largest of a number of springs in revealed that though much of it was covered by an the immediate area. Work in early 2010 revealed unrecorded chalk dump from the A303 road re- that this spring is also thermal, with probes showing widening in the area in the 1960s, its eastern edge consistent readings of 10ºc across the spring area preserves early Celtic field systems whose origins may despite the outside temperature being -10ºc. lie in the Bronze Age (Field, McOmish and Bowden, pers. comms). A 3m x 3m trench in this area may have picked up part of a Celtic field including 1 metre rich agricultural soil containing abraded Middle Iron Age pottery and some Early Bronze Age flintwork. Some likely hollow ways and trackways were also discovered in this area, the north eastern corner of which leads down to the spring.

Observations in the southeast part of the Camp have also resulted in potentially significant discoveries. This area abuts the present Stonehenge road and here we discovered a previously unrecorded Bronze Age barrow (E) close to another possible barrow (F) on the other side of the road (though unrecorded, The Bronze Age blade both are evident on Dury and Andrews 1773 map of the area). A hollow way (G) discovered in the The excavations in the spring resulted in the retrieval southeast corner appears to be following a trajectory of over 900 flint tools and worked flints ranging between both barrows and lies parallel to the from the Early Mesolithic to Early Bronze Age Stonehenge road. periods. Over 700 of these were found in three different layers within one 2m x 2m trench, where they had been seemingly deliberately mixed together in an act or acts suggestive of a ritual related to a need to connect back to ancestors. The latest flints in the assemblage dated to the Early Bronze Age, providing a possible date for deposition and potentially placing the spring as a place of ritual at the same time as Stonehenge and Durrington Walls (Field, Bowden, McOmish, pers. comm.). In light of Parker Pearson’s attention to the ways various binary oppositions were set up in the area – life/death, wood/stone, etc. – perhaps the spring represented a further one, wet/dry, at this time?

A broken Middle Bronze Age dagger was found in the spring, refashioned from a rapier and engraved with a chevron. This dagger only had one rivet hole Open University students excavating the spring and is likely to have had a ceremonial function (Barrowclough, pers. comm.). A likely Middle

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Interestingly, the Iron Age ramparts on the RUN OF PPS Vespasian’s Camp side of the road do not appear to extend as far as the barrow there. It may be that the Kent Archaeological Society would like to dispose of ramparts respected the position of both barrows and a spare run of volumes of PPS . This comprises that the gap between them could have provided an volumes 1 (1935) to 58 (1992), with the exception of entry point across this part of the Camp in the Iron volumes 8, 9, 15, 24, 41, 42 and 50 which are Age (the ramparts in the south-west corner of the site missing. All of the volumes are complete as published indicate that any routeway there would have been and in good condition. They are for sale as a set at a cut off or controlled by the Camp). It is also possible price to be negotiated. For further information, that there was a pre-Iron Age context to this route as please contact Dr. F. H. Panton CBE, Hon. Librarian it follows the most topographically desirable KAS, Grove End, Tunstall, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 crossing point on the hill, potentially connecting a 8DY; tel. 01795472218; email [email protected]. major ancient fording point (H) on the Avon in one direction with the Avenue and Salisbury Plain in the other. Indeed, the Stonehenge road, known to be a MARVELS AT MARDEN very early route way connecting with the HENGE Salisbury Plain, may have been situated here for similar reasons of topographical advantage. This summer saw excavations at one of the largest Conclusions are necessarily tentative at this stage, in Britain: Marden. It is located in the heart of but it is possible that a significant ancient routeway the Vale of Pewsey in and lies on Greensand through the landscape has been discovered. between the two more famous chalk sites of Stonehenge and Avebury. The work is the Since 2007, field surveys of the western ramparts of culmination of a two-year multi-disciplinary project the Camp have led to the finding of over 50 sherds comprising staff from English Heritage, and follows of Iron Age pottery, which extend the range of the the investigations of Richard Colt Hoare and Iron Age occupation of the site from the Early Iron colleagues at the site in the early 19th century and Age through to 50BC (Mepham, pers. comm.). This subsequently those of Geoffrey Wainwright and result suggests that the hillfort may have been the colleagues in the late 1960s. fulcrum of the landscape for most of the Iron Age. Unlike Stonehenge and Avebury, Marden does not In conclusion, during our 10 long weekend field have any surviving stone settings; however, it did seasons, funded on average with £700 per year, and have a large conical mound, said to be the second assisted by enthusiastic and skilful Open University largest in Wiltshire after Silbury Hill. Now AA309 students as well as experts, local residents demolished, it was known as the Hatfield Barrow, and the custodian of the site, all of whom have given and some estimates put it at as much as 15m high. their time and expertise freely, we have found Another notable feature within the henge is the evidence which starts to extend and develop existing Southern Circle, an earthwork set hard against the knowledge about Vespasian’s Camp. In our view, southern boundary. This, we now know from the this evidence indicates that the site was a highly recent work, is a smaller but extremely well- important place in a significant topographical preserved ‘inner’ henge. position in the Salisbury Plain landscape from at least the Early Bronze Age ontwards. The new survey The recent multidisciplinary survey (which included Acknowledgements topographic, aerial and geophysical surveys) has We are extremely grateful to Sir Edward and Lady introduced a considerable amount of fresh evidence, Antrobus for so generously giving us regular access clarified certain points and provided the basic data to Vespasian’s Camp, which is such a magical place. for new interpretations. Detail of the henge enclosure We also wish to acknowledge our gratitude to the has revealed a new entrance in the southeast and Open University, Amesbury Town Council, the questioned one that had been proposed in the east. Qinetiq group (Amesbury) and Wolfson College, The main henge structure itself is now considered to Cambridge, for providing funding for this project. be a series of separate but conjoined lengths of For space reasons I don’t have the opportunity to earthwork rather than a monument of formal plan. thank the many academics, archaeologists and other Although very little of the mound is now discernible specialists for their contributions to our work in at the surface, the ditch of the Hatfield Barrow was person. You all know who you are and I will be located by all surveys and accurately positioned expressing our thanks to you personally. DJ . within the enclosure. In plan, the Southern Circle matches the Hatfield Barrow for overall size and its David Jacques (Open University), Tom Phillips surviving earthwork is probably one of the more (Oxford Archaeology East) & Mike Clarke dramatic features on site, resembling in some ways an (Custodian of Vespasian’s Camp) amphitheatre.

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The Marden building. The sunken area can clearly be seen, as can the central hearth.

The recent excavations Durrington Walls, which led from the henge down to This year we targeted three areas for excavation: the the River Avon; the feature at Marden is certainly location of the Hatfield Barrow, the southeast henge orientated towards the Avon on a southeasterly entranceway and ditch end, and the bank of the alignment. Southern Circle. The inner henge bank and building The Hatfield Barrow The most remarkable part of the whole excavation, The location of the Hatfield Barrow was confirmed however, was in the southern part of the monument by excavation of a trench placed from its centre to the on the bank of the newly identified inner henge. Here lip of its surrounding ditch. Dateable remains were excavations revealed the chalk surface of an recovered from the remnants of the mound itself extraordinarily well-preserved Neolithic building. (approximately 0.15m of mound material was The central part of the surface was sunken into the preserved towards the centre), and a posthole cut ground by about 20cms, and this sunken area through this material, hinting that, like Silbury Hill, the Hatfield Barrow was formed of a number of phases. Features (possibly tree-throw pits) were recorded below the mound, as were patches of burnt material, which should provide good radiocarbon age estimates.

The southeast entrance and ditch end A section was excavated through the henge ditch next to the newly identified south-east entrance, revealing the ditch to be 2m deep. Good organic preservation was recorded from the lower fills, and a number of large animal bones and pieces of antler had been preserved, albeit in a very soft and fragile state.

This trench also exposed a small section of the southeast entranceway, revealing a thick deposit of The ripple-flaked oblique , both with tips and barbs gravel sitting within a shallow cut. This may well be missing, but with the barb fragment (which is clearly from a third a similar feature to the gravel roadway recorded at ) ‘fitted’ onto the lower example. PAST 15 4154_PAST 66_Amended:PAST 55 9/11/10 13:04 Page 2

measured approximately 3m x 4m. The sunken area is utterly dominated by a large hearth, which was surrounded by a feature - presumably the location for some sort of fireguard.

Close to the chalk surface were spreads of organic- rich midden debris, which incorporated three elegant bone pins or needles and a bone awl, as well as flint flakes. In one area was an assemblage of bones from several pigs - some bones were clearly articulated, suggesting that for the large part they were deposited in a single episode and presumably represent feasting debris.

Two exquisitely crafted ripple-flaked oblique flint arrowheads were also recovered from this trench, but with broken tips and one missing barb each. However, if an intriguing broken fragment of flint from another part of the site is correctly interpreted, these arrowheads may have once sported grossly elongated barbs on one side. This long and narrow surface-flaked ‘barb’ fragment closely matches the Grooved Ware sherd with applied lug pierced with small character and width of the stubs on the arrowheads - holes top and bottom, possibly anthropomorphic. so much so that it almost refits with one of them. Such an overstated feature places the artefact well Although Wainwright’s assemblage is similar to the beyond the realms of practicality, and must have been pottery from this year’s excavations, reflecting the ultimate show-off item. As far as we know, commonalities of potting tradition and style, the nothing similar exists in Britain - and even the barbs material (particularly that from the inner henge bank) on elaborate continental barbed-and-tanged appears to be different, perhaps specialised, and arrowheads are small by comparison. We lay a might hint at functional or chronological variation challenge here at the feet of all flint knappers out across this huge site. This and other research there to try to recreate a similar arrowhead and barb. questions will be addressed in a forthcoming programme of assessment and analysis. The pottery Prehistoric pottery was recovered from across the Future work and implications site, and apart from a couple of possibly later Only one quarter of the internal surface of the prehistoric sherds in late contexts, the assemblage is building was exposed during this season of work and composed entirely of Grooved Ware in the the possibility remains that the location of furniture Durrington Walls sub-style. The pottery from the and other internal building elements may be evident midden debris is of particular interest since there from the unexcavated area. Another season of work appears to be an unusually large number of sherds would elucidate this. Equally only a very small portion with decoration on their inner surfaces. One vessel, of the midden debris was excavated. Any further work for instance, has finely executed incised pendant- will also include trial trenching outside the henge filled triangles, while another has a complex scheme along any possible route between the southeastern

of horizontal or vertical incised lines filled with entrance and the River Avon to confirm the suggestion 6 transverse or diagonal lines between reserved bands. that a metalled road exists between the two. 6

A lug handle with two small holes top and bottom is The structure on the bank of the inner henge is quite unlike the horizontally pierced lugs noted undoubtedly one of the best preserved Neolithic within the sub-style, and is possibly unique and buildings in Britain outside Orkney, but its purpose anthropomorphic – the holes look like eyes and remains to be explained, while its location on top of nostrils and are probably too small to accommodate a henge bank now questions the very nature of such a cord for suspension. Further still, several sherds earthwork banks and the degree to which similar have a thin surface coating, possibly a slip. structures might be incorporated both at this site and elsewhere.

Jim Leary, David Field and Michael Russell

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